Extra Effort Pays for Champion Houghton
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
May 28, 2014
MARQUETTE — The top four Houghton High School boys golfers went to such places as Washington, D.C., South Carolina and Florida during Spring Break to sharpen their skills.
As the saying goes, practice makes perfect.
They were rewarded for their efforts Wednesday as the Gremlins captured the MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 1 title with 310 strokes at the Marquette Golf & Country Club’s Heritage course.
Runner-up Escanaba shot 318, followed by defending champ Marquette at 321.
Houghton sophomore Wyatt Liston earned medalist honors by firing a 73. He was followed by Marquette junior Mike McGee, who shot a personal-best 75, and Escanaba sophomore Nick Aird at 76.
“I think everything went pretty well,” said Liston, who birdied three holes on a sunny day and seasonably cool day near the shore of Lake Superior. “Overall, I played pretty solid. Hitting the fairway off the tee was the key, although I wasn’t getting a lot of distance on my shots.
“I thought my approach shots and putting went pretty well. The greens had a lot of movement, and today was all about being able to read them. What today’s tournament means is I have a lot of room for improvement. I would like to get a little better at striking the ball.”
Houghton’s Gunnar Stein and Ben Strong and Escanaba’s Dane Casperson, who birdied four consecutive holes, shared fourth place at 78.
The Gremlins recorded seven birdies during the tournament.
“Anytime you can get three golfers to shoot in the 70s, it helps,” said Houghton coach Jack Humpula. “Our consistency across the board also helped. Another thing that helps is the guys don’t let a bad shot ruin the entire hole. We’ve been pretty consistent all season and that’s how we won our (West-PAC) conference.”
Fourth-year coach Brian Robinette said he was very pleased with Escanaba’s performance.
“I feel real good about how we did,” he added. “You’re always looking for results at the end of the year, and 318 is the lowest score we shot in a tournament all year. We just wanted to perform in a way (in) which another team had to shoot a score better than us. A 310 is definitely a championship performance on this course.
“I’ve always believed that success breeds success, and I think that holds true in (Houghton’s) program. I also think our program is heading in that direction. We didn’t lose any momentum in terms of where our program seems to be going.”
Dylan Gauthier added a 79 for the Eskymos, who were last crowned U.P. champions in 2011.
“When you get three kids shooting in the 70s under the pressure of the U.P. Finals, I think it bodes well for your program,” Robinette said. “Dane (Casperson) is a four-year veteran who understands what this is all about. He was part of a U.P. championship team as a freshman and had to take a leadership role at a very young age. Just watching Dane carry himself around the course this year just kind of gives you that sense of pride. We feel our program is on the rise.”
Marquette also had an additional top-10 finisher in Brett Specker, who shared seventh with Gauthier and Gladstone’s Max Stasser at 79.
“We’re happy for Mike (McGee),” said Marquette coach Ben Smith. “He bogeyed the last hole and was kind of bummed about that, but he still shot a great round.
“I thought the boys shot an OK score. A lot of our kids left a stroke or two out there. Scott (Frazier) and Brett (Specker) led us all year, and Mike was our No. 3 golfer. It’s awesome when you can get these kinds of contributions throughout your lineup as we did from Mike today.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Houghton's Wyatt Liston drives from the sixth tee box during the MHSAA Division 1 U.P. Finals on Wednesday at Marquette Country Club. (Middle) Escanaba's Dane Casperson putts on the fifth green. (Photos by Adelle Whitefoot.)
Preview: While 1 New Champ Guaranteed, Field Filled with Familiar Contenders
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 8, 2023
At least one new team champion will be celebrated at this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Boys Golf Finals, while three teams from the Detroit Catholic League will be seeking repeats although they will be met by several more contenders when play begins Friday.
The individual races also have familiar favorites with plenty of valuable Finals experience. Runners-up from all four divisions will be playing to take the final step this weekend, including both who tied for second in Division 1 a year ago.
Play begins both Friday and Saturday at 9 a.m. See below for more on a number of teams and individuals who could be in contention, and check out the MHSAA.com Boys Golf page for full lineups and more. (Rankings are via iWanamaker at the end of the regular season.)
Division 1 at The Meadows of Grand Valley State
Top-ranked: 1. Ann Arbor Skyline, 2. Brighton, 3. Traverse City Central.
Skyline won the championship in 2021 and was runner-up last season to Detroit Catholic Central, only two strokes back and as the only team to clear 300 strokes both rounds. Brighton is seeking its first championship ever and first top-two finish since 1967, and Traverse City Central is pursuing what would be its first championship since 1996, before Traverse City High split into two schools. Nine teams broke 310 across the six Regionals last week, with DCC’s 288 at Salem Hills in Northville easily the lowest score.
Ann Arbor Skyline: The Eagles shot a 301 to win the Regional at Pine View in Ypsilanti by 34 strokes, led by three golfers who were part of last season’s runner-up Finals finish – junior Vibhav Alokam and seniors Andrew Slade and Hank Roebuck – as all five Skyline golfers finished among the individual top five and ties for the fifth spot. Alokam was the Regional champ with a 71 after tying for sixth at last season’s Final, where Roebuck was just one stroke out of the top 15. Alokam also was the team’s second-lowest scorer at the 2021 Finals win.
Brighton: The Bulldogs have climbed from seventh to third at the Finals over the last two seasons and will return all five golfers this weekend from last year’s run – with three of those five also on the 2021 team. Brighton finished second at Salem Hills to DCC, shooting a 296, with senior Andrew Daily fourth at 69 and senior Winston Lerch tied for seventh at 74. Daily tied for second at last season’s Final.
Traverse City Central: The Trojans have dominated in Northern Michigan this spring and continued during a Regional trip south to Currie West in Midland, where they won by four strokes shooting a 309. Central has improved from tied for ninth to sixth over the last two Finals and will bring four players back this weekend from last season’s contender. Senior Michael Beattie tied for fourth at the Regional with a 75, and senior Mack Shane tied for eighth at 77.
Individuals: Daily and Alokam are joined by East Lansing junior Drew Miller (tied for second) and DCC junior Julian Menser (eighth) among returnees from last year’s Final top 10. Menser won the Salem Hills Regional with a 66 and is the only returnee from last season’s DCC championship lineup. Miller was third at the Currie West Regional, won by Holt senior Zach Johnson. Portage Central senior Ethan Tiller, Rochester Adams junior Peter Roehl and Warren De La Salle sophomore Max Teschendorf also were Regional champions last week, and South Lyon East junior Ryan Kruschka (67) and Northville senior Mason Sokolowski (68) also broke 70 in finishing second and third, respectively, to Menser. Mattawan junior Matthew Novak was second to Tiller at Sunnybrook in Grandville and tied for ninth at last year’s LPD2 Final.
Division 2 at The Fortress in Frankenmuth
Top-ranked: 1. Grand Rapids Christian, 2. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 3. Richland Gull Lake.
Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice has won the last two Division 2 championships and finished runner-up to St. Mary’s at last week’s Regional at Huron Meadows Metropark in Brighton with three members of last year’s championship lineup finishing seventh individually (with ties) or higher. The Warriors shot a 300, but St. Mary’s shot a 293 that was the low for all Division 2 Regionals. Grand Rapids Christian also broke 300, shooting a 296 at Diamond Springs in Hamilton as it pursues its first Finals title since 2013. Vicksburg shot a 299 at Coldwater Golf Course and is pursuing its first top-two finish after tying for 17th a year ago.
Grand Rapids Christian: The Eagles didn’t have a senior in their Regional lineup but placed four among the top five individuals (with ties) including sophomore John Cassiday and junior Maxwell O’Grady, who tied for first. They were part of last season’s fourth-place Finals lineup, and juniors Adam Workman and Dylan Clark also are back among the top five this spring after finishing tied for fifth and tied for 16th, respectively, at last year’s Final.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s: The Eaglets were ninth a year ago with just one senior and four underclassmen, and three of those four are back this weekend. Juniors Cooper Eaton and Ben Carroll led the Regional title charge tying for second individually at Huron Meadows, with sophomores Ethan Mukhtar and Mason Shea placing sixth and tied for seventh, respectively.
Richland Gull Lake: Last season’s runner-up team graduated the individual medalist, but returns the rest of the lineup this weekend after finishing third at Coldwater. Junior Beau Carr is the newcomer but was the team’s low scorer at the Regional as he tied for fourth.
Individuals: Total five of the top 12 (as three players tied for 10th) from last season are back in the field, led by Brother Rice senior Lorenzo Pinili after he tied for second in 2022 and finished second outright in 2021. He won the Huron Meadows Regional individual championship in a tie-breaker hole. Sophomore Leandro Pinili tied for fourth at the Regional and tied for ninth at last year’s Final. Adrian junior Carson Ritz returns after finishing fourth a year ago, as does Gaylord senior Kole Putnam after tying for fifth. Other individual Regional champions last week were Ritz, Grand Rapids Northview sophomore William Pollack, Vicksburg senior Josiah McClelland and Flint Powers Catholic senior Robert Burns. Burns tied for 12th and Pollack for 14th at last season’s Final, and Burns tied for fifth in 2021.
Division 3 at Michigan State’s Forest Akers West
Top-ranked: 1. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 2. Jackson Lumen Christi, 3. Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central will play for its second championship in three seasons after winning in 2021 and finishing runner-up last spring to Ann Arbor Greenhills. The Gryphons are back in the mix after a third-place Regional team finish but individual Regional championship by junior Max Shulman, one of two golfers back from last year’s Finals lineup. Lumen Christi won that Regional, by 15 strokes at Hills of Lenawee in Adrian and with four golfers among the top 10 individual finishers. Fourth-ranked Hanover-Horton was runner-up at the Regional, one of the strongest in the state in any division. Liggett is seeking its first championship since 1982 but coming off a Regional runner-up finish to Lansing Catholic at Hawk Hollow in Bath.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett: The Knights have three golfers back from last year’s top five as the team improved to third at the Final from tied for fourth in 2021. Senior Sean Sullivan and sophomore Charlie Cooksey finished tied for eighth and tied for sixth, respectively, in the individual standings last spring and tied for second at last week’s Regional.
Jackson Lumen Christi: The Titans are coming off a seventh-place Finals finish, and they’ll be returning their entire lineup this weekend. Senior Joshua Baker and sophomore Charlie Saunders led the Regional title run tying for fifth individually. Senior Nash Hanchett was seventh at the Regional and led the team tying for 16th at last year’s Final.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central: The Cougars also were Regional champions, shooting a 317 at The Falls at Barber Creek in Kent City to win by 19 strokes. Junior Will Preston was the medalist at 69, and junior Matthew Sokorai tied for second after they were also the team’s top two scorers at last year’s Final when Preston was second individually and Sokorai was 18th.
Individuals: Six golfers from last year’s top 10 are back; joining Preston, Shulman (tied for sixth), Cooksey and Sullivan are Grand Rapids Covenant Christian junior Michael DeVries (tied for 10th) and Hanover-Horton senior Brady Applegate (also tied for 10th). Joining Preston as Regional champs last week were Olivet senior Dawson Redfield, Shepherd sophomore Christopher Crockett, Lansing Catholic sophomore Hayden Riley, Adrian Madison freshman Cameron Bozyk and Tawas senior Alex Kaems, who won in a playoff.
Division 4 at Battle Creek’s Bedford Valley
Top-ranked: 1. Clarkston Everest Collegiate, 2. Maple City Glen Lake, 3. Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep.
There will be a new champion as 2022 title winner Lansing Christian is not in this weekend’s field, and Hackett won in both 2021 and 2019, while Everest was the runner-up last season. The Mountaineers last won a Finals championship in 2017 (and actually 2016 as well), while Glen Lake is pursuing its first title as are No. 4 Charlevoix and No. 5 Hillsdale Academy among other contenders.
Clarkston Everest Collegiate: The Mountaineers shot a 293 at Fountains in Clarkston to win their Regional last week by 34 strokes, with the four scorers all finishing tied for seventh or higher individually. Senior Remy Stalcup was the medalist with a 69, followed by sophomore Parker Stalcup in second and sophomore Will Pennanen third, and they were the team’s top three at last season’s Final as well. Remy Stalcup tied for third at last year’s championship tournament, while Parker Stalcup tied for 15th.
Maple City Glen Lake: After finishing fourth in 2021 and third last season, the Lakers should be in the hunt with three golfers back from year’s lineup including senior Blake O’Connor – who was the Finals runner-up last season and tied for ninth as a sophomore. He and sophomore Michael Houtteman tied for second at last week’s Regional at Harbor Point in Harbor Springs.
Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep: The Fighting Irish were fourth a year ago with four freshmen and a junior all playing at least one Finals round, and four of those five golfers helped the team return this weekend with a third-place Regional finish at Clearbrook in Saugatuck – but with the biggest contributor freshman Justin Tyler, who won the individual title.
Individuals: O’Connor and Remy Stalcup are a pretty formidable pair returning from the top three, and they and Houtteman are joined by three more top-10 finishers from a year ago: Saginaw Nouvel sophomore Alex McCarthy (tied for fifth), Hillsdale Academy junior Rykert Frisinger (tied for eighth) and Lansing Christian senior Baylor Brogan (tied for eighth). Frisinger and McCarthy joined Tyler and Stalcup among Regional champions last week, as did Grandville Calvin Christian freshman Will Orme and Charlevoix junior Hudson Vollmer.
PHOTO Ann Arbor Skyline’s Vibhav Alokam tees off during last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final at Katke Golf Course. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)